Thursday, December 29, 2005

I got an email from "Chase Alert" yesterday that was telling me someone used my account from different locations, and I had to log in to verify legitimacy. Of course, since I don't have a Chase account, this stuck out like a sore thumb. I followed the link, and noticed that the site I was taken to had NOTHING to do with the bank. The URL was "http://staindlyrics.com/chase/..." Apparently these phishers didn't want to even attempt a URL Spoof. Anyhow, I chuckled a bit at the URL, and threw the email away.

Today, I got another email, this time from "Chase Notification". It claimed that there was "possible froud." Yes, froud not fraud. I followed the link and ended up at "http://wallstreetens.com/chase/...", yet another funny URL. Makes me wonder about the phishers -- though I suppose they're just using the means they have.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Tonight, I decided to test my faith in carma (spelling intended, see car implications below). I went out and bought a shovel, then shoveled the six inches of snow away from four of the eight parking spaces in front of my building. I made paths to the drivers' side door of the other four spots that contained cars. Don't ask me where I get the motivation to shovel the white crap.

As I was finishing up removing a snow bank from behind one car (that had pretty much been plowed in), one of my neighbors pulled up and parked in the *one* empty space I had not shoveled. He gets out and says, "you must have a lot of energy." I told him that I intended to do that space next, and he said he parked there so I wouldn't have to. I told him I had personal motivation: my car has low clearance, and there's no way in hell I can get in or out of most of the spots in our lot. He didn't seem to care.

Maybe it's just because, growing up in Minnesota, I'm used to removing snow ASAP so that it won't either get too deep to shovel or turn into a nice packed sheet of ice. On a side note, I saw another of my neighbors' boyfriends come over earlier in his huge Chevy truck. He had a good deal of difficulty getting into a space with rear wheel drive and an empty bed. I was amused that my little rice rocket is more agile in our parking lot.

A bit later, as I was finishing up, another one of my neighbors came home. The first thing out of her mouth was, "where did you get that shovel?" I told her that Menards had LOTS of different kinds in stock. I also had some fun in their mostly un-plowed parking lot while there. Apparently she gave up looking when she found out that Target was out of them. Why someone would go to Target for shovels (when a Menards is closer) is beyond me.

Anyway, the initial reaction from my neighbors was not to care that I cleared roughly two hundred cubic feet of snow from the parking lot and sidewalks so they have an easier time getting to their cars. we'll see if what goes around really does come around. To show the world my good faith, I left the shovel outside my door (as one of my neighbors does with their really tiny shovel). Perhaps someone will use it to clear more snow -- or maybe steal it.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Yeah, my favorite four-letter word fell all over the Bloomington today. I read the weather reports last night, and decided that I would stay home if it was sn*wing when I woke up. It was just cold, no snow, so I went in.

Had class, went to a talk, came out of the talk and there was white shit all over the place. Went to lunch with this guy, this guy and this guy. Came outside, walked through four inches of sn*w.

The first snow of the year is hell on drivers and pedestrians. All the drivers with rear-wheel drive cars and empty trunks end up sideways. People forget that it's hard to stop. You can walk places faster than drive. The picture shows one of the main drags through campus at about 2pm.